The Light Side of Character Tropes

Tropes: can’t live with them but can’t live without them

A “trope” is anything that commonly recurs in a piece of fiction – be it themes, literary devices or characters. Since it is anything with a common recurrence, the word has come to be viewed as a negative.

It’s not.

I can fully understand the desire for originality, but let’s be real: at this point, after centuries of written works of fiction, it would be impossible to come up with a story that is 100% original.

So, what are we talking about today? As you may have guessed: character tropes. But, I’m going to try and frame this in a different way. Picture a traffic light. You’ve got the red light (stop), the yellow light (get ready to stop) and the green light (go). Now we’re going to use these lights in terms of character tropes.

Green Light

In this case, green is going to mean “use it more.” So, the trope I am deeming underused is…drumroll please…the male supporter. What do I mean by this? I’m referring to a male side character who provides emotional support for the main character/s. Because – newsflash – men can also provide emotional support. They don’t just punch people and yell at you to rub some dirt in it.

I think this trope needs to be used more for a couple of reasons. First: it shows that characters don’t only need physical support. They can (and should) have a mentor who ensures their mental well-being as opposed to solely teaching them to fight evil. Second: this emotional support being provided by a male shows other young males that men should talk about feelings instead of relying on violence.

image courtesy of warner bros.

A prime example of a male supporter would be Rubeus Hagrid from Harry Potter. His role throughout the novels is to watch over Harry and his friends. The thing I love about Hagrid is he’s portrayed as such a sensitive man. He’s the classic “Gentle Giant” (well, half-giant). He’s always there offering moral support and genuinely expects nothing in return (cough Dumbledore cough). Hagrid is Harry’s most loyal supporter and advocates for him on every step of his journey.

Side Note: Does anyone else view it as utterly ridiculous that the man who treated Harry terribly for six years until he was “redeemed” got a Potter namesake while the man who was there for Harry with no ulterior motive didn’t? Rubeus Hagrid deserved better!

Yellow Light

I’m using yellow to indicate tropes that are used often but should either be used differently or not used for a while. Essentially, yellow is a “proceed with caution” light. This on-the-fence trope is…again, drumroll…the chosen one (arguably the most well-known character trope).

I debated making this my red light trope. But, honestly, I think it’s one that’s here to stay, which isn’t surprising given the popularity of it. With that said, yellow light seems fitting, considering the trope’s popularity but the need for writers to slow down with it.

image courtesy of new line cinema

I can understand why this trope is so common. It creates a special feeling, this idea that you yourself could be that one hero needed to save the day.

I get it.

However, is it realistic?

No, it’s not.

Even if you are the only one who can save the world, there’s no way you can do it alone. This has been proven in every story that features a “chosen one.” Frodo Baggins wasn’t doing all the work himself, you know? I could go on and on listing the various “chosen ones” there have been. There are a lot of them and none succeed in their journey without any help.

With that said, try to slow down with adding a chosen one to your work. However, that’s easier said than done. So, if you can’t avoid it, why not try subverting it?

Red Light

Finally, we’ve reached the red light – our full stop. As in, just stop using this one. A grossly overused trope is…you know the drill…the damsel in distress. I cannot stress enough how much I dislike this trope.

image courtesy of pinterest

Look, I try to be open and see the appeal to most tropes. But I can’t do that with this one. It perpetuates this idea that women need saving. Furthermore, it pushes a fantasy that, if a man saves a woman from something evil, he is entitled to having her. It feels like some dumb schoolyard “finders, keepers” mentality.

It’s not right.

It’s a ridiculous notion that you should be rewarded, for doing good, with a loving and beautiful woman. Is doing good simply because it’s the right thing to do not good enough? Apparently not.

As with any trope, I guess a good subversion would change my opinion. Give me a story where the strong handsome dude saves a woman. After some butt-kicking, instead of receiving a declaration of love and a big old smooch, the dude gets a thank you and a good night. Fin. That’s a story I would enjoy.

Of course, there are dozens of other character tropes. Some have seen the light of day too many times, while others hide at the bottom of the pile. Here’s a list of 99 common archetypes. Use them wisely.

What would your red, yellow and green lights of character tropes be?

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image courtesy of allstar/disney

Lillian

Lillian is a second year Professional Writing student who has devoted much of her life to immersing herself in different worlds through the eyes of a variety of characters. Some characters she’s loved, some she’s hated, some she’s loved to hate and some she’s hated to love. It’s all in the name of research.

Kids: More Than Just Cute Faces

The Endless Struggle with Realistically Written Child Characters

In writing, young characters are often cast aside in favour of the more interesting, more complex or more knowledgeable grown-up characters. This neglect of adolescents is a real shame because I would argue children could be the more complex characters. As is often the comparison made, children are sponges. They are constantly absorbing what’s happening around them. They’re effectively still learning about the world.

Often, when a story includes a child somewhere, they’re given some vague characteristics and cast aside. Usually, that child falls into one of three categories I may-or-may-not have just made up: the bratty youngster, the wise-beyond-their-years counsellor or the baby-faced-and-voiced kid solely there for the “aww, so cute” factor.

Children are multi-faceted beings. If you think back to your own childhood, you’ll realize this. Sure, maybe you were that bratty youngster, but surely there was a reason for that. You weren’t just a brat for the sake of being a brat (if you were, sorry for this generalization, and also, I hope you’ve evolved from that).

Here is a great post that discusses different age groups and how they think, speak and behave. It provides a lot of useful information and tips for effectively writing children.

A few pieces of writing (books, TV shows, movies) come to mind when I think of child characters. Some of these young characters are good, and some are bad.

Quick Disclaimer

I’m opting to ignore child characters in media created specifically for young audiences. Those characters are usually portrayed very unrealistically, but for a good reason. With children’s media typically meant to be educational, it makes sense for the characters to be well-rounded and well-behaved. I’m also choosing to ignore the glaring exception to this, Caillou, as I’d prefer to keep pretending that particular character doesn’t exist.

image courtesy of pinterest

The Bad

When I think of a frustratingly written child, I think of Jamie Scott from One Tree Hill (I recently showed the…interesting 2000s teen drama to my roommate, so it’s fresh in my mind).

Jamie doesn’t show up until halfway through the series. The show’s fifth season is set four years after the finale of the fourth season. The baby born at the end of season four is now a fully-fledged person. But I digress.

Jamie Scott perfectly embodies the second category I named above: the wise-beyond-their-years counsellor. He’s four years old, yet somehow, he’s the one with the best nuggets of wisdom. I’m pretty sure every single thing he says is meant to be seen as so very smart. I’ve worked with kids of all ages, and let me tell you, four-year-olds are not all that wise. Sure, they might occasionally say something inadvertently smart and profound. For the most part, though, they’re laughing about butts and pretending they don’t know who drew on the wall.

image courtesy of indy week

The Good

Now, the good – or better, at least. Emma Donoghue did a terrific job of writing from the perspective of a five-year-old boy, Jack, in her novel (and its 2015 film adaptation) Room. The story is about Jack and his mother and their lives confined to a small room.

Jack encapsulates the curious child. He asks questions, but he also knows a lot. He often explains what he understands about his tiny world. It quickly becomes clear to the audience that Jack is in a bad situation. This is not clear to Jack. He’s just the innocent kid. He spends his days with only his mother, playing games as they pass the time any way they can in their limited space. He’s having fun and enjoying being a kid.

Jack also has his less pleasant moments. He has tantrums. He screams. He cries. He doesn’t listen. This is real. He’s acting like a real kid. Jack’s not just one thing: happy-go-lucky, obnoxious, scared, sad, angry or pretty much any emotion under the sun. He is all of them. Just like you. Just like me.

In Conclusion…

I could go on and on about badly written and well-written children. There are so many child characters out there waiting to be analyzed, after all. For the sake of time, I will just say: don’t write children off. They bring a lot to a story besides just being props.

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image courtesy of allstar/disney

Lillian

Lillian is a second year Professional Writing student who has devoted much of her life to immersing herself in different worlds through the eyes of a variety of characters. Some characters she’s loved, some she’s hated, some she’s loved to hate and some she’s hated to love. It’s all in the name of research.